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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Searching for bottom blade for unknown old lawnmower

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Hi all

First of all, merry xmas and a happy new year!

Hopefully you can help me with the following problem. I'm restoring an old lawnmower, I don't know the type or even the brand although many parts of Suffolk do actually fit. There's also a Suffolk 75cc cast iron engine mounted (original). 

The frame has been sandblasted and coated, all bearings and gaskets are renewed and all the electronic has been renewed as well. I used original Suffolk parts.

So far so good, unfortunately only the newly ordered bottom blade doesn't fit. As you can see on the pictures below the shape is slightly different but also the width is different. I ordered a 17" blade for Atco/Quellcast/Suffolk mowers but I'm wondering if this is even the correct width since I'm able to compare in real life.

My questions are, does somebody know the brand and type of this mower and where I can order a new bottom blade that will fit?

Thanks in advance! 

 

Aled Sun, 01/01/2012

is the bottom blade corroded enough or worn away enough to warrant a replacement, this is defiantly a Suffolk mower since is has the same engine and very similar looking parts to Suffolk Punch's, however parts for this mower in particular would not be easy to get hold of since by comparison to other Suffolks it is fairly rare.

Unless it's rotting to bits, I would recommend just cleaning the current bottom blade up, resharpen it and adjust the cutting cylinder to fit.

If you really need to get a new one, the company who makes cutting cylinders and bottom blades is called Garfitts:

http://www.garfitts.com/

I've been told they will supply one off cutting cylinders and bottom blades, I think they also manufacture blades for mower companies like Dennis and Ransomes, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

Toetsje Mon, 02/01/2012

 

Hi, thanks for your reply!

I've contacted the company you mentioned a couple of days ago but they didn't respond on my question yet. 

I have 2 bottom blades, 1 is pretty worn and the other blade is usable. However, I really would like to bring the mower back in "as new" state, this is how it looks right now:

 

I'm wondering if it's possible to cut a piece of the new blade and weld it on the old blade. The new blade is made of iron but I don't know if the old blade is made from the same material.

As I said earlier, the whole frame including the cutting cylinder has been sandblasted and coated. Can I use the "backlapping" method to remove the paint on the cutting edges and resharpen the cylinder or do I need the help of a proffessional?

Regards!

Paris

 

Aled Tue, 03/01/2012

Regarding sharpening the cylinder you could take it to a competent mower shop and ask them to sharpen it on a machine, it'll remove the paint on the edge of the blades without damaging any of the other paint, I've worked at a mower shop where I've had to sharpen the blade after painting it and it worked for each one every time.

If you're planning to make a hobby of this I would suggest buying a center lathe and adapting an angle grinder so you can fit the grinder in the tool post, that's a good way to sharpen the cutting cylinder (and also the bottom blade if you know how ;) ) but also a center lathe is useful for making front rollers and wooden handles.

The old blade is probably made from iron, since the manufacturer who built these mowers was iron foundry (Suffolk Iron Foundry 1920), don't take my word for it though and double check before you start ruining the workpeice.

When you say you have 2 blades, d'you mean you have 2 blades that fit? If so I would suggest using the most usable out of the two, this mower is a 60s or 70s machine so it's not going to have 200 years of commercial wear or anything like that, to be honest I (and some collectors would probably agree) would see it as a waste of money to buy a new bottom blade if the current one is serviceable.

That said however, it is your money and your project, so if you really want to get a new blade the best way would be to contact Garfitts (I'd phone them, because they didn't get back to me via email either) and they could supply you with one.

Sorry for waffling on. :)

Toetsje Tue, 03/01/2012

Thanks again for your extreme helpfully answer. 

It's the first, and probably last, lawnmower restoring project. It's my hobby to restore *things*, for me it doesn't matter if it's a car, home or lawnmower. I want to restore the mower so I can use it for the rest of my life (and I'm 28 year old ;) ). It may cost some money but there're limits.

I've bought an identical mower some time ago for spare parts. So, indeed I've 2 blades that do actually fit.

One blade has been welded in the past and there're some dents and cracks, the other blade looks ok to me but has some wear as well. I've made high resolution pictures, can you tell me if this blade is serviceable based on these photo's?

http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/5581/hpim2870.jpg

http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/9734/hpim2873.jpg

 
 
Thanks in advance,
 

 

Aled Tue, 03/01/2012

Yeah the used one at least will work for a good few years, maybe even longer, until it wears to replacement. If you don't have the facilities to sharpen it go to a mower shop and they'll be able to do it for you.

Toetsje Wed, 04/01/2012

Brought the mower to the shop, they came with the same conclusion as you. (there's wear but it can be used for several years though).

Should be ready within a week, can't wait :)

Aled Thu, 05/01/2012

Good one, it's not the most commonest of mowers, the usual Suffolk mowers were normally the Punch and the Colt. I'm personally trying to find the ATCO sidewheel which shared the same engine and was produced around the same time, they're not common.

What mower shop did you go to out of interest?

Toetsje Thu, 05/01/2012

Hi, 

Mower will be sharpened by Rienties, a local mowershop in the Netherlands (my hometown):

http://www.rientiestuinmachines.nl/

Is the sidewheel of your Atco identical to the sidewheel of my Suffolk mower? If so, I have 2 spares in pretty good condition left....

 

 

Aled Fri, 06/01/2012

Looks like a good dealership.

I'm not certain since I've only ever seen one photo of the machine in a book I have, I've never seen one in real life. I expect one will turn up at auction or on eBay sometime, I'm not desperate for one, though.

Clive1997 Sun, 08/01/2012

Check out this item on ebay looks like the one you are after.      item No. 290655460743

 

Regards

 

Clive

Toetsje Tue, 24/01/2012

Mower has been sharpened and I'm a happy man now :)

It easily cuts a paper into 2 pieces, perfect.

 

Do I need to re-sharpen the mower now and then or will it be sharp for several years now?

Thanks all for your support!

hillsider Tue, 24/01/2012

Hello,

Good to hear that you have resolved the problem by having the cylinder and blade reground. Re the question of how long it will stay sharp that is like asking the question `How long is a piece of string'. 

Seriously though it does depend greatly on how much you use the machine and how well you look after it, if you take care not to cut the grass so short that you pick up stones and soil and keep the mower clean and oiled after use then it could last a while, otherwise it could become dull and difficult to set very quickly.

Ray.

 

 

 

baz632 Sat, 27/07/2013

Hi,

I found this discussion by searching on Google images for Suffolk sidewheel mowers and low and behold found this very rare mower which I am looking for, as I need one for my collection of Suffolk petrol mowers.

I have a 1971 brochure and the mower is shown there, in the odd white and yellow colours, as in your first pic.

I can upload a scan of the brochure page if you are interested.

I own a red Suffolk Corporation which is a basically similar mower but 19" cut instead of 16".

 

wristpin Sat, 27/07/2013

Looks like the profile is similar to a Suffolk/Qualcast bade and that you have a 17" so why not just shorten it and drill a new mounting hole - or am I missing the point?